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"It's in a reasonable state, but there are quite a few cracks in the walls.

"We had about six or seven bidders at the auction - a mixture of residential developers, investors, potential occupiers and artists. However, the number of bidders quickly dropped as the price went up."

He said he thought the result at auction was due to the high demand for properties in London and Camberwell, seen as an upcoming area, which is raising prices.

The inside of the garage (SWNS)

The garage is next to Vanguard Court, a hub of 40 small workshops and studios off Peckham Road, whose tenants have included Edmund de Waal, a ceramicist, and Cathy de Monchaux, a sculptor short-listed for the Turner Prize.

More than 200 artists and business owners signed a petition opposing Southwark Council's sale of the building on the grounds any new owners would object to the noise created by the "busy and thriving" industrial estate.

The buyer is anonymous but there have been rumours it has been bought by one of the artists in order to save the studios.

Mr Lamb added: "The coach house would make an ideal artist's studio and I've heard rumours it has been bought by a wealthy artist to save it from being turned into housing, though I haven't a clue if that is true."

He said it would cost about £100,000 for a buyer to convert the building into a house.